Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
1436

The Secret Service code name for Barack Obama is "Renegade."

The code names used by the Secret Service to identify the President, the Vice-President, their families and other key White House figures are anything but secret. They are assigned by the White House Communications office and used primarily for easy identification and communication. The code names for Obama's family are as follows: Michelle is "Renaissance," while daughters Malia and Sasha are "Radiance" and "Rosebud," respectively.
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Tuesday

Fact N°
1437

A Starbucks might be on every corner, but as brands go, Folgers is king.

According to market research company Information Resources Inc., among ground coffee makers (and excluding decaf coffee) in 2006-2007, Folgers owned 21.5% of the market share, 5% more than runner-up Maxwell House, and more than double that of Starbucks (10.4%).
Figures are established by using sales at drug stores, supermarkets and mass merchandisers, although for unknown reasons they exclude any sales at Wal-Mart.

Wednesday

Fact N°
1438

A disproportionate number of U.S. Presidents have been left-handed.

Of the 44 men elected to the presidency, 8 -- including Barack Obama -- have been left-handed, amounting to 18%, a figure that is, depending on which calculation you take, double the average among the general population.
All but one of the left-handed Presidents have held office after the 19th century. In total they are: Garfield, Hoover, Truman, Ford, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and Obama.

Thursday

Fact N°
1439

Antevenoms are made by injecting venom into animals and harvesting the antibodies.

An antevenom (sometimes called antivenin or antivenom) to treat a snake or spider bite, for example, is based on the principles of a vaccine in that small amounts of the venom are used to induce antibodies. However, the main difference is that, unlike most human vaccines, antevenoms are developed not in humans, but in animals: After an animal such as a horse or a goat is injected with the venom, it produces antibodies and those antibodies are developed into an antevenom for humans.
Contrary to popular notion, antevenoms don't cure people; they're part of treatment and don't undo any damage done by venom.

Friday

Fact N°
1440

In a five-year period, United Nations diplomats were issued 150,000 New York City parking tickets.

Until 2002, UN diplomats in New York City enjoyed immunity from parking violations, allowing them to park pretty much anywhere and ignore the ticket. From 1997 to 2002, these diplomats committed over 150,000 violations.
It got so out of hand that in 2002, the Clinton-Schumer Amendment effectively ended the wide-open parking immunity diplomats enjoyed. Now, if they don't pay the fines, the amount can be deducted from their foreign aid allotment.

Saturday

Fact N°
1441

The rare atmospheric phenomenon of a fire rainbow is actually diffused white light.

A fire rainbow is technically known as a circumhorizontal arc, but in the sky it looks like a fire in all the colors of a rainbow. These can only occur under strict conditions: the sun has to be very high (58 degrees above the horizon), and cirrus clouds need to have formed in the sky. Cirrus clouds are composed of hexagonal ice crystals, and these have to be in plate form, and facing the earth.
This way, the white sunlight passes through the crystals and emerges on the other side as all the colors of the visible spectrum.

Sunday

Fact N°
1442

In 2007, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison out-earned all other CEOs in the U.S.

Although Ellison only earned a nominal $1 million salary, he picked up a whopping $182 million in vested stock options that he exercised in 2007.
Over the last five years, Ellison has been paid $428.59 million. Averaged out, he has earned on average over $87 million per year since 2003.